Exploring the world

The MCG – Australia’s Sporting Mecca

The MCG will always hold a special place in my heart (though I am sure that I am not the only Australian who can make that statement, especially those who refer to it as their second home) namely because of the experience I had when I first went to see a football match.

It was Sunday 7th August 2005 and Port Adelaide (my football team) was playing Carlton (which happens to be my Mum’s football team), so I decided to rush off to the AFL store and buy a beanie and scarf so I could show my true colours. Thus I walked up to the ticket booth dressed like this:However, before I had got anywhere near the ticket booth somebody called out to me. Turning around I saw another guy dressed similarly who proceeded to ask me whether I had purchased a ticket. I told him that I hadn’t and he replied by saying ‘I have a spare season pass. You can use mine if you wish’. So he swiped it across the turnstile allowing me to enter and then told me that I could sit where I liked and proceeded to disappear.

Despite trying to find a spot where I wasn’t surrounded by Carlton fans, my first impression, as they say, was the impression that counted, especially since Port defeated Carlton by 14 Points.

The MCG is quite easy to find and if you don’t happen to know where it is I am sure somebody on the street will very quickly point you in the right direction. However, if you make your way to Flinders Street Station, at the corner of Flinders Street and Swanson Street, head south towards Princess Bridge, and the look to your left, this is what you will see:

MCG from Princess Bridge

Otherwise, you can always resort to Google Maps.

As well as spending three hours watching a game of football, or five days watching a game of test cricket (if that is your thing, though I only know one person that will spend the entire five days watching a bunch of guys dressed in white standing around in the sun), you can also go on tours and even visit the National Sport Museum (which may be a welcome break from watching a bunch of guys stand around for five days).

I went on the tour once, though I was quite disappointed that when they tell you that you can walk on the grass, what they mean is that you get to walk on only a very small section. However, that disappointment vanished when I happened to see this: